Israel Adesanya Believes Dricus Du Plessis Won’t Be Comfortable Striking With Him

Israel Adesanya expects Dricus Du Plessis to immediately shoot for a takedown in their upcoming title fight.

Adesanya will challenge Du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. A well-versed mixed martial artist, Du Plessis has an almost equal number of knockouts (nine) and submissions (10) among his 19 career finishes. While he is primarily considered a wrestler, Du Plessis has proven his ability to strike at an elite level with knockout wins over the likes of Derek Brunson and Robert Whittaker in the UFC.

However, Adesanya, who is considered one of the greatest strikers in the history of the sport, doubts Du Plessis will be willing to stand with him. The former Glory Kickboxing standout believes “Stillknocks” will be looking for the takedown from the get-go, a strategy for which he is prepared. Boasting a takedown defense rate of 77%, “The Last Stylebender” recalls handling a number of top-tier wrestlers in the past.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

“I think he’s going to shoot straight away,” Adesanya recently told Stake.com. “I doubt he’ll want to strike with me for too long. This is something that people always say, but I’ve shown before that I can wrestle too. It might not be how everyone else wrestles, but I can wrestle too. That’s why I ended up becoming champion of the world.”

Du Plessis has a calculated brawling style, which has seen him consistently pull off upsets on the biggest of stages. However, Adesanya believes that style will leave the perfect opening for him to pull off a highlight-reel knockout like he has done several times in his career. That being said, Adesanya won’t go hunting for any flashy moments.

“Definitely. He is a guy who fights the way he fights, but he gets a lot of success, but it leaves him very vulnerable,” Adesanya said. “When you fight a guy who is very precise and lethal like me, come on… The highlights will always be there. The way I fight will always produce highlights, and those are nice bonuses. But I don't look for them, they just show up.”